Ellis Memorial

ABOUT ELLIS

The mission of all Ellis programs is to engage, educate and empower Boston's inner city working families with high-quality education and care for children and youth.

Founded in 1885 as one of Boston's earliest settlement houses, Ellis is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in the city's South End neighborhood. Ellis provides high quality early education and care for infants, toddlers and preschool children, and out-of-school time programs for youth in grades K through 8 at sites in the South End and Roxbury. Ellis predominantly serves low-income, culturally diverse families from the Boston neighborhoods of the South End, Roxbury, Dorchester and South Boston. The organization strengthens Boston’s low-income working families by helping individuals of all ages make the most of their potential.

Ellis Programs:

Ellis’ Early Education Center is a dynamic, diverse learning environment for children aged two months to 5 years. The Center’s ten classrooms are home to busy, active learners engaged in learning and play, with a focus on healthy social, emotional, physical and cognitive development, and on the early language acquisition that is so critical to later success in school. 

Ellis enrolls 149 children in the following age groups:

·  28 infants (4 classrooms)

·  45 toddlers (5 classrooms)

·  76 preschoolers (4 classrooms)

Daily programming includes learning-based activities, games, one-on-one extra help, and large and small group projects. All aspects of the curriculum are designed to ensure children graduate from Ellis socially, emotionally, and academically ready for the next level of learning. As an organization, Ellis is committed to helping close the achievement gap in school for children from low-income families. Over half of the available slots are designated for children from those families.

The Early Education Center day also includes healthy meals and snacks for toddlers and preschoolers, outdoor time at our Ellis Children’s Park or indoors at our activity areas, and quiet time after lunch for those all-important power naps. 

The Center is licensed by the MA Department of Early Education and Care and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Two of the preschool classrooms operate in partnership with Boston Public Schools.

School-Age Program: Generations of inner city working families have turned to Ellis for safe, academically enriching out-of-school time options for their students in elementary and middle school. Today, the School-Age Program enrolls over 90 students a year in grades K through 8 at program sites in Roxbury and the South End.

After-school programming includes an hour of homework supervision/assistance, a healthy snack, and time to talk about what’s going on at school, at home, in sports, in the news, and more. Students then spend an hour attending one of three different clubs each week -- clubs they have chosen according to their interests, curriculum and age groups.

During summer and school vacations, this is a full-day program with daily field trips around Boston and beyond, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, cooking, dance, music, reading competitions and activities in support of maintaining academic year gains and avoiding “summer learning loss.”

Ellis employs 53 staff (6 part- and 47 full-time), many of whom have an impressive tenure serving the organization. Ellis is governed by a board of 17 community and business leaders. The Ellis operating budget is approximately $4 million and the organization sustains a strong financial position. The organization’s administration and programs are housed at 58 and 66 Berkeley Street in Boston’s South End.